Short Takes

A rift has broken out between a New Jersey-based pro-Palestinian student group and a national pro-Palestinian organization, threatening a three-day Palestinian solidarity conference scheduled for Rutgers University in New Brunswick in October.
A spokeswoman for the National Student Conference of the Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM) confirmed that the group has voted to move its third annual national conference from Rutgers to Ohio State University because of "concerns about the capability of New Jersey Solidarity (NJS) to host this year's conference successfully."

Rabbi Milton Balkany, a Republican fund-raiser who reportedly raised $100,000 for President George W. Bush's campaign, was arrested Tuesday on federal fraud charges for allegedly misusing a $700,000 grant intended for disabled preschoolers. The rabbi, it is charged, used some of the money to pay his federal income taxes and life insurance premiums.

Animal hide is a source of many joys of Judaism. After all, the Torah scroll itself is written on kosher parchment. Still, a celebration of this month's Tu b'Av holiday that featured djembe drums from Ghana was an unexpected experience for many who found themselves hitting the skins with abandon.

Israel wants YOU!
Israel's Ministry of Tourism is asking synagogues across the country to put pledge cards on every seat during High Holy Day services next month so that congregants can commit themselves to visiting Israel sometime in the next year. The ministry's goal: 1 million American Jewish tourists.

He was the first Israeli to reach a finals event at Wimbledon. He also made a semifinal.
What's next for Andy Ram?
More of the same at the U.S. Open, says Israel's rising tennis star. Maybe a championship.

An expert medical examiner has corroborated witness accounts that Gideon Busch was not charging at police when they shot him to death in a controversial August 1999 incident in Borough Park, recent court documents reveal.
Suffolk County Medical Examiner Charles Wetli, who is to testify for New York City in a civil suit this fall, told lawyers for both sides during a deposition that the hammer-wielding Busch was "standing straight when he was first shot and his upper right arm was close to his chest."